閑居偶作
生死可憐雲變更
迷途覺路夢中行
唯留一事醒猶記
深草閑居夜雨聲
Casual Seclusion Verse V
Life and death pitiful like clouds changing in a stream,
Losing the path to find the way while treading the dream.
After the awakening—only one thing remains,
The sound of deep grass in idle meeting with night rains.
閑居偶作
Idle Reside Chance Compose
生死可憐雲變更
Life Death Pitiable Cloud Change Alter
迷途覺路夢中行
Lost Path Awakened Way Dream Within Walk
唯留一事醒猶記
Only Leave One Thing Awake Still Recall
深草閑居夜雨聲
Deep Grass Idle Reside Night Rain SoundHeine says for third line:
“Although the wording in the Monkaku version explains the idea by using negative rhetoric—’But there is one more matter that must not be overlooked’ (雖然尚有難忘事)—the outlook of dedication to teaching remains the same.”
As for the last line, it refers to the town of Fukakusa (深草), literally “deep grass,” a site that served as a rustic getaway for the elite living in the capital during the Heian period. This was also where Dōgen established Kōshōji temple. I still think there’s a bit of wordplay here, so I chose to evoke the image of rain dropping on grass.